The Guardian Business · Экономика · 2 ч назад
Speed up electricity grid upgrade or else face higher bills, warns UK watchdog
National Audit Office says failure to implement £70bn modernisation would also hold back economic growth The ‘great grid upgrade’ is off track – ministers should spell out the risks for bills Consumers will pay higher energy bills unless the UK government speeds up work on a vast programme of upgrades to the electricity grid to enable the switch to renewables, the public spending watchdog has warned. The National Aud…
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A wind farm near Ardrossan, Scotland. A £70bn programme is under way to ensure more power can be carried from renewable sources to homes. Photograph: Alan Majchrowicz/Getty View image in fullscreen A wind farm near Ardrossan, Scotland. A £70bn programme is under way to ensure more power can be carried from renewable sources to homes. Photograph: Alan Majchrowicz/Getty Energy industry Speed up electricity grid upgrade or else face higher bills, warns UK watchdog National Audit Office says failure to implement £70bn modernisation would also hold back economic growth
Prefer the Guardian on Google Consumers will pay higher energy bills unless the UK government speeds up work on a vast programme of upgrades to the electricity grid to enable the switch to renewables, the public spending watchdog has warned.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said that without faster action the extra costs associated with managing the ageing power network, which are ultimately passed on to the public, could reach £7.8bn a year by 2030.
A £70bn programme is under way to modernise Great Britain’s network of pylons, overhead lines and substations so that more power can be carried from wind and solar farms and other clean energy sources to homes.
Labour has said its plan to decarbonise the grid by 2030 will keep consumer bills lower than they would otherwise be, but the NAO said that if the planned upgrades did not happen fast enough then bills could rise instead.